Dallas Jewish Group Target of Extremely Lazy Iranian Hackers

Sure, there are a few powerful American Jewish groups that blur the line between religion and politics, lobbying congress to spend political and financial capital protecting Israel at all costs. But all obvious signs indicate that Makom is not one of those groups.

Makom, instead, is a loose congregation of young Jews in Dallas who don't like going to temple, instead hosting laid-back holidays at an office space downtown.

Makom's "mission statement" in fact makes no mention of Iran-Israel relations or anything political. It takes a stand only against "guilt" and "judginess."

Some hackers are not convinced of this mission. Twice, self-described Iranian hackers have defaced the website of our city's own young adult Jewish group. Rabbi David Singer isn't sure why.

The website was fixed and back to normal soon enough after the first hacking in the fall, but then, last month, the hackers struck again. Both times, the message was the same: "Hacked by Ali-Demon Im Black Hat Iranian Hackers."

Cheap-looking snowflake graphics fell in the background. No other information was provided and no demands were made. It's not clear what the hackers wanted out of Makom and they made no threats, Singer tells Unfair Park.

Makom got the website fixed again. The hackers seem to have given up, with no new strikes since.

Makom responded to the hackers in a Facebook post after the initial attack: "Dear mysterious Iranian hackers: We are so appreciative that you think we're important enough to be worthy of your attention and time," the post said, and invited the hackers to come to Shabbat dinner that night. They never made it for dinner, though, so security experts believe the second attack may have been an attempt to secure some slow-cooked brisket.